Improvement in middlings-purifiers



(i. H. RICH.

Middli-ngs-Puriers.

D10-154,565. .Pat-ented Sept.1,1874.-

mnesses:

'UNITED STATES PATENT GEEICE.

GEORGE E. nieu, OE eE'NEvA, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT INMIDDLINGS-PURIFIERS.

Specificati0n'form1ng part ofttei' Patento; 154,565, dated'Septembor 1, 1874 application filed February 9, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Beg/itknown that I, GEORGE H. RICH, of

Geneva, in the county of Kane and Statev of clogged up with particles of the matter which should pass through the meshes, and when clogged up its efficiency is either wholly destroyed or greatly impaired in proportion to the extent of the stoppage. Various devices have been contrived forcleaningthe boltctoth in various ways, the most efficient of which .is

V the well-known brush which,by contact with the cloth, dislodges the entangled particles .and

clears the meshes but the action of thebrush upon the cloth tends to wear the cloth out rapidly, and the mechanism required to manipulate the brush is more or less expensive 4and complex. I propose in the present invention to employ an endless-band sieve of bolt-cloth stretched over rollers, which give it a slow motion, so that anew surface is constantly being brought into use, while the part or surface which has performed the sifting is turned the other side up in returning, and those particles ot' matter which have become lodged in the meshes are allowed to fall out the same way. they 'came in. This endless apron ofbolt-cloth 1 is shaken by a vibrating shoe, which may carry two of the supporting-rollers, and th'e upper ply ofthe apron. is inclined-a little tocause the ,unpuritied mid( lings to shake at'one'eird. TheV best manner of supporting the apronsieve I iiud to be by means of fourrollers arranged at the corners of a parallelogram'; the upper pair being hung in a vibrating shoe, while the lower pair are borne in the framework of the machine and are stationary, ex-

cept as they revolve upon their own axes.-

This arrangement of four rollersan upper and a lower pair-enables me to allow suiicient space between the upper and under plies of the apron-sieve to accommodate a conveying device consisting of an inclined shakeboard or other contrivauce for receiving the purified middlings which pass through the meshes of the seive, and to convey thesame out from betweenthe two plies ofthe sieve, so that it shall not fall upon and befoul the lower ply. This arrangement also comprehends 'that two portions of the apron, one at each end, shall always be in a vertical positionone portion descending and the other ascending-and as the upperply, which performs the si fting, is vibrated longitudinally through the agency ofthe before-mentioned vibrating shoe, these vertical end portions of' the apron are waved, so to speak, through the air at each vibration of the shoe, which action tends'to e'ectually clear them of dirt.

In connection with this sifting mechanism, '-li'ily a suction-fan for lifting and carrying away the dust and lighter parts of the refuse matter from above the sitter.

This placing of a suction-fan above the sifter is not new with me, as it has been quite commonly used, and it has been common -to govern and direct the draft of the fan by means of a partition lying over the sifter, fit-ted with movable slats or long narrow Valves. ABut this arrangement of a Vsingle partition I find to be insuiiicient to properly regulate and distribute the draft as such single partition or door operatesonly inone direction. Itherefore employ two iloors or partitions above the sitter, one lying over the other, said floors being provided with a series Of vlong slats'or valves, or being made' wholly of hinged or pivoted slats arranged so'that the slats or valves of one floor runat right angles to those in the other tloor, which enab es me to distribute and' control the draft ot t e fan perfectly.

In tlimaocomp'anying drawingnyhich forms a part of this `sp'ee1cati'on;F1gure lrepresents a side elevation of my improved machine.

Fig. 2 is a central vertical longitudinal section of the same, and Fig. 3 is a central vertical transverse section thereof.

In the said drawing, A represents the endless-band or apron sieve of bolt-cloth passing around the roller B B' and C C. This apron of bolt-cloth maybe strengthened at the edges with straps of leather. And also, to secure a more perfect action, the rollers may be made with spoke or sprocket wheels, not vshown in" the drawing, which may engage holes pierced through the strengtheniug-straps. The upper. pair ot' rollers, B B', are borne in a lvibrating shoe, D, the roller B being set a little lower than B to give the upper. ply of the bolt-cloth an incline. The vibrating shoe D is swung from the frame of the machine by pivoted arms d, and is caused to shake or vibrate 1on` gtudinally by means of the pitmen E, one at,v each side, connected by eccentrics e to the lshaft F, which receives power at one end by the cross-belt G from the shaft H, which carries the fan J and also 'the power-pulley K; and said sha-ftF transmits from its other end, by the belt G', motion to the roller C', one of the four which sustain and circulate the apron A. By apportioniug the `size of the band' wheels or pulleys, the fan J moves rapidly, and a rapid vibration is imparted to the shoe, while the roller which lcirculates the apron moves slowly. I suggest as' a proper rate of speed that the rollerl C be driven at such speed that the apron will be caused to make a complete circuit in about onehour, when the machine is operating at aproper rate of speed, as will be yunderstood by those acquainted with the art. The apron circulates in the direction shown by the arrows, and at theupper ply this direction agrees with the decline, as shown. This slow motion of the bolt-cloth apron-is not attended with any material strain Y or wear upon thefabric, as vwill be readily understood.

` Attached to the under side of the shoe D is an inclined conveyer or shake-board, L, emptying into a narrow hopper or funnel, M, which serves to concentrate the middlings as they fall. Above the upper ply of the apron is a chamber, N, communicating with thesuctionfan J. This chamber is divided by two horizontal partitions or floors, the lower of whichl consists of a lseries of longitudinal valves or slats, l), extending the whole length ot' the sieve, and the upper one of a similar series of transverse slats, P', By adjusting these slats opening and closing them-the suction of the fan maybe directed to any part of the surface of the sieve.

The operation of my machine is as follows: The middlings to be purified are fed into the hopper R, which may be caused to feed slow or fast by the slide r, and fall immediately upon the upper surface of the upperply of the apron-sieve A', which, by the mechanism abovc-described, is caused to vibrate longtu dinally. This vibration causes the middlings,

toward the lower end of the upper ply of the apron. During' this passage, the smaller heavy particles sift through and fall upon the shake-board L and are conveyed away, while the dust and light portions are lifted by the fan and conveyed away. Then coarse refuse spills over at the lower end of the Aincline of the apron, 'and is collected by any suitable means and reground. Y

An extra roller, S, may be inserted at the middle of the sifter to sustain it from bagging under the weight of the material being sifted.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The circulating, endless-band, vibrating bolt-cloth sifter A, constructed and operating substantially as specified.

V2.` The circulating, endless-band, vibrating bolt-cloth sifter A, mounted upon the rollers B B' C C', which separat-e theupperand lower plies of the sifte'r to a considerable distance,I so that a portion of said sit'ter at each end stands vertically, substantially as specified- 3. The combination of the vibrating shoe D,- carrying the rollers B B', the endless-band sifter A, and the rollers G C', substantially as specified.

4, The circulating, endless band, vibrating bolt-cloth sifter A, in combination withl the rollers B B C C', and a conveying device, L, or its equivalent, for conveying the material which sifts through the upper ply away from between the plies, substantially as specified.

5. The combination of the sifter A, the fan J, and. the chamber N, divided by a double oor consisting of two series of valves, P P', running at right angles to cach other, substantially as specified.

e. H. RICH.

Witnesses:

J. W. MUNDAY,

chaff, dirt, dust, 85e., to shake along downv 

